Home » UK Employment news » Radiographers walk out in England as pay dispute continues

Radiographers walk out in England as pay dispute continues

By Nithya Bose in UK Employment news, posted July 26, 2023

Radiographers in England are staging a 48-hour strike across 37 NHS trusts, expressing their frustration over pay and staffing issues.

The Society of Radiographers (SoR) organized the strike, citing an alarming number of staffers leaving the profession and insufficient efforts to recruit new workers.

The strike comes after members of the SoR rejected the government's proposed five percent pay offer.

They demanded further negotiations after other public sector workers, including junior doctors, were offered more favourable terms.

Radiographers on the picket lines feel overworked and undervalued, leading to burnout and an exodus of talent from the profession.

Therapeutic radiographer Ashley d’Aquino, said: “90% of patients that come into hospital have contact with a radiographer, whether that’s diagnostic or therapeutic, and we are missing 10% of our workforce.

“It’s only getting worse, people are leaving because of burnout.

“We just want (the Government) to start engaging a little bit more and working with the different unions to address these issues.”

Nicola Kirkpatrick, a therapeutic radiographer, said eliminating an educational bursary for new radiographers has hurt recruitment.

She said: “The bursary was removed about five years ago and that’s stopped people joining the profession.

“We’ve had less and less people coming through because they can’t afford to change from other jobs into our profession.

“And now we just haven’t got enough staff.”

The strike started at 8am on Tuesday, July 25, involving 37 NHS trusts where members have a mandate to strike.

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These trusts include University College London Hospitals, Liverpool University Hospitals, Nottingham University Hospitals, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston, and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

During the strike, staff will continue to provide "life and limb" emergency cover for patients, similar to staffing levels on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

The SoR said nine out of 10 NHS hospital patients rely on radiographers for services like X-rays, MRI and CT scans, ultrasounds, breast screening, and radiotherapy for cancer patients.

The Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said the five percent pay award is final, calling on the SoR to cancel the strike.

He said: “I want to see an end to disruptive strikes so the NHS can focus relentlessly on cutting waiting lists and delivering for patients.”

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